Former NFL safety Darren Sharper is charged with two rapes in California and two more in Arizona. / Bob Chamberlin, AFP/Getty Images

by Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY Sports

by Brent Schrotenboer, USA TODAY Sports

PHOENIX â?? Semen matching Darren Sharper's DNA was found on the leggings of one of his alleged rape victims in Arizona, according to testimony Wednesday from a Tempe police detective.

Testing also revealed a partial DNA match for Sharper on the genitals of the same woman, who had no prior relationship with the former NFL star, said Det. Kevin Mace. The woman was one of two allegedly raped by Sharper on Nov. 21 after partying with them and drugging them with the prescription sedative zolpidem, the generic form of Ambien.

That and other evidence was presented in court here Wednesday as Arizona prosecutors tried to convince a judge that Sharper should be kept behind bars without bail while he faces felony rape charges in California and Arizona. Sharper's attorneys disagree, saying the former NFL safety is entitled to post bail and go free while he awaits trial.

Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Warren Granville continued Wednesday's hearing until Thursday after about an hour of testimony from Mace. If Granville decides Sharper is entitled to bail, Sharper might be let out of jail in Los Angeles, where he's been incarcerated since Feb. 27.

In Los Angeles, where Sharper is charged with raping two other women, Superior Court Judge Renee Korn had cited Sharper's no-bail status in Arizona as a reason to keep him locked up indefinitely in Los Angeles, where he previously had been free on $1 million bail.

But Sharper's attorneys contested his no-bail detention status in Arizona. To keep Sharper jailed without bail, the Phoenix judge said prosecutors would need to show that their evidence pointed to his likely guilt.

Among the highlights from Wednesday's testimony:

- One of Sharper's alleged rape victims, called "Victim A," had a previous sexual relationship with Sharper for about one year. She tested negative for Ambien and had no DNA on her or in her that matched Sharper's DNA, Mace said. Mace said she also tested positive for THC (marijuana) and amphetamines, and that Sharper is not alleged to have given her either drug.

Testing also revealed the sperm of another man, whom Victim A said she had consensual sex with three days earlier. Earlier on the night she was with Sharper, Victim A had to be helped back to her apartment after getting kicked out of a bar for intoxication and vomiting. Her roommate, called "Victim C," and another woman, called "Victim B," helped put her in bed that night, changed her clothes and left her bedroom door open at her apartment. They said Sharper then fixed drinks for Victims B and C and insisted they consume them.

Mace said Victim A later woke up naked from the waist down with her legs dangling over the edge of the bed even though that's not how she went to bed hours earlier. She also felt as though she had sex but did not remember what happened.

- Victim B had semen matching Sharper's DNA on the leggings she was wearing that night, along with a partial DNA match on her genitals, Mace said test results showed. She was knocked out soon after consuming a drink Sharper gave her, Mace said. When asked if Victim B had known Sharper previously, Mace said, "No, she had mentioned she had very little interaction with him during the night."

- A third woman, called "Victim C," is the roommate of Victim A, and was not raped but suspects she was drugged after consuming a drink made by Sharper. After the drink, she said she soon felt loss of her motor functions, became alarmed and called her boyfriend while in her bedroom. When leaving her bedroom to go to the bathroom, she said she witnessed Sharper on the couch, on top of Victim B, "naked, making thrusting movements." She explained what she saw to her boyfriend, who confirmed the conversation with police, Mace said.

- All blood and urine tests for the alleged victims have not been completed, Mace said. So it's not clear yet if some tested positive for Ambien.

- Subsequent medical exams did not show injuries to the women's genital areas, which is not unusual in sexual assault cases, Mace said.

- Testing found the presence of zolpidem in one of the drink cups used that night. Sharper has a prescription for the drug.

Mace was under questioning by prosecutor Yigael Cohen and then defense attorney Skip Donau. Donau objected to what he described as the hearsay nature of much of Mace's testimony because it's what the detective heard from others.

Because of his incarceration in Los Angeles, Sharper waived his right to appear at the hearing Wednesday. It was the latest turn in a complex, multi-state legal drama that's tested fundamental questions about due process and public safety.

Should Sharper be entitled to bail while he awaits trial? Or are the charges so serious and numerous that a judge should deny him bail in the interest of protecting the public?

Sharper, 38, is under investigation in five states for the alleged rapes of nine different women since September â?? two in Los Angeles, two in Tempe, Ariz., two in Las Vegas, two in New Orleans and one in Miami Beach, Fla. All the incidents follow a similar pattern: After Sharper partied with these women, police suspect he offered them drug-laced drinks and raped them while they were unconscious, according to court records and police reports.

Sharper has been formally charged in Los Angeles and Arizona and has pleaded not guilty. Meanwhile, he has been locked up for nearly two months while his attorneys have tried to have him freed, even offering to have him placed under house arrest.

But Korn, the judge in Los Angeles, declined their requests for release after an Arizona grand jury indicted Sharper last month. The indictment didn't allow for bail, giving Korn a reason to keep him locked up indefinitely in Los Angeles.

"I think the charges pending out of the state of Arizona are sufficiently serious that the court... is going to set bail at no bail," Korn said then.

Sharper's attorneys in Arizona hoped to change that Wednesday by convincing Granville to give Sharper the opportunity for bail in that case.

Korn had scheduled a hearing in Los Angeles for Thursday but might postpone it until after the Arizona hearing concludes.

Sharper first was arrested in Los Angeles on Jan. 17, at which time he posted $200,000 bail and was released, though Korn ordered him to remain in Los Angeles County and prohibited Sharper from going to bars. After more allegations became known in other states, Korn increased that amount to $1 million on Feb. 20.

A week later, Sharper turned himself in to Los Angeles authorities and was returned to jail after a warrant was issued for him in the New Orleans case.

On March 7, Korn indicated she would release Sharper again on bail unless New Orleans authorities filed formal charges against him. They declined to do so, but an Arizona grand jury did on March 11 â?? a no-bond indictment that's kept him behind bars.

Investigations in New Orleans, Las Vegas and Miami remain open. Because California filed charges against him first, prosecutors there will be able to try their case against him first.